Page 87 of Doc
Trip’s gaze ran over Bronx, as if considering what more could be done to the fucker to make him suffer. Bronx had caused his club a lot of trouble, and had taken lives. Getting a brother to betray his own club was as infraction that carried a death sentence, but the biggest violation he’d committed had been done to his own daughter. Decent men would condemn him for that, and none of us here condoned abuse toward women and children.
“Want him lowered into the sauce while he’s still alive,” Trip muttered after a minute.
“Oh, shit,” Murphy expressed. “That’s gonna hurt.” Laughter followed his comment.
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer man,” someone else quipped.
Trip grunted and continued, “Want him to feel his flesh melting away from his fucking bones.”
Hearing that, Bronx groaned weakly.
“Once he’s gone, Wild Bandits are no more. If there are any left out there, they’d best stay hiding, or they’ll get the same treatment.” His gaze moved about the men. “Anyone else who betrays the club is included in that.”
“Get him down and into the vat.”
Frenchie and Orlando, a brother in LD’s clubhouse, moved to do Demon’s bidding. Together they hefted Bronx up and over the hook securing the chain that kept him dangling off the floor. They let him hit the floor hard and watched him wallow in his own blood and piss for a minute before jerking him up by the arms and dragging him over to the vat. They dropped him into the toxic mixture and stood back as Bronx sank below the surface before bobbing up to the top again.
His screams echoed through the warehouse.
I felt nothing but relief that this particular threat was over for our clubs. It didn’t mean that we wouldn’t be facing another one next week. Peace came at a price, one that we gladly paid, but it never lasted. Harlow had almost paid this time, and that couldn’t happen again. I would do what I needed to do to make sure that she was safe. I’d been a fool to think that I could have her. And while my brothers had managed to get over the constant threat and worry of having women and the family lives they wanted, I wasn’t willing to risk Harlow.
Nope. Couldn’t fucking do it.
She was going to hate me, but I could live with her hate. I just couldn’t live in a world where she didn’t exist. And there were a lot of men like Bronx that would take her and use her to get to the club.
“What’s got you looking so dark, Brother?”
I blinked and gave Savage my attention. For the first time, I realized that Bronx’s screams had stopped, and most of the men had wandered away. It was quiet except for the low conversation going on between Demon, LD, Trip, Cole, Murphy, and BF. Their expressions revealed that they’d moved past what had just taken place and were discussing lighter shit.
Such was club life.
“Just glad it’s over,” I finally said in response.
His brow shot up, and he gave me a look that said he wasn’t buying my response. I exhaled loudly but kept silent.
“You gonna ruin a good thing?”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, unwilling to go into it with him.
“Don’t do it, man. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve beat myself up for waiting before I went after Lulu.”
When Lulu had been one of our club whores, Savage had refused to touch her as long as she belonged to the club. He’d stayed in the shadows, watching and waiting to make his move. I didn’t know how any man could watch the woman he wanted give herself to other men. Once Lulu had left the club to pursue her own life, they’d come together like the perfect storm.
“No comparison,” I pointed out.
He snorted. “Same outcome, though. Think about what your brothers went through with their women.”
I knew that Cole, Bull, Loco, or any one of them could have told Savage their own stories, because he hadn’t been around then.
“Pushing your woman away isn’t the answer, Brother.”
How did he know what I’d been thinking?
“Doesn’t mean she’ll be any safer without you in her life.”
Fuck, he was right. I knew he was right. And I knew my brothers had gone through the same shit that I was feeling right now. They hadn’t loved their women any less than I loved Harlow, but we were like-minded brothers who lived a life of danger and chaos, and it was tough bringing in a woman who hadn’t been raised in this lifestyle. I wondered what they’d done to get past the fear, what made their wives so special that they were willing to take the risk.
I had too much shit running through my head. I needed to work things out before I ruined a good thing, as Savage had put it. I needed Harlow like I needed air to breathe, but I was afraid for her. If we hadn’t rescued her when we had, Bronx would have used her to feed his cruel depravity. He would have raped her, tortured her, and in the end, cut her up into little pieces. The image of the cut next to her nipple revealed what his sick intentions had been.